Homeowners who already did repairs to their storm-damaged homes may not be reimbursed.Advance file photo

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten
Islanders and other city residents who used their own money to fully repair
homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy could be out of luck when it comes to being
reimbursed.

That's
because the city's draft plan for spending superstorm aid says that
"Reimbursement for work that has been completed with private resources will not
be permissible under this program."

But that
could change when the plan is revised.

Under
the current draft, Islanders and others in the city who paid out of pocket for
completed repairs that were not fully covered by Federal Emergency Management
Agency relief or private insurance would be affected.

While
the state plan doesn't include a specific mention of a reimbursement plan,
sources briefed on the plan told the Advance that one is going to be created.

With the
city and state having two separate plans for spending the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery
funds, that means that homeowners in Nassau and Suffolk counties could
be reimbursed while those on the Island and in the Rockaways would not.

New
Jersey also plans to reimburse homeowners who paid out of pocket to complete
Sandy-related home repairs.

U.S.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urging U.S. Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, who heads up Sandy recovery efforts, to change
the situation.

In a letter to Donovan obtained by the Advance, Schumer
wrote, "Many homeowners acted proactively, investing much of their personal
savings, in order to rebuild. A reimbursement program is now needed to fill the
gap between insurance payouts and the out-of-pocket expenses many homeowners
already incurred."

The letter said that "several thousand" New Yorkers could be
affected if the plan is not revised to include reimbursement.

In passing the Sandy relief package, Schumer said that he
wanted to ensure that support "would come not only to homeowners who were still
struggling to rebuild, but also to those that had already invested their own
savings to rebuild."

The city might already be moving in that direction.

With the
two-week comment period on the plan having just expired, City Hall spokeswoman
Lauren Passalacqua said, "we are considering a number of recommendations we
received, including reimbursement for past repair work."

The city
said that in this initial round of storm funding, officials had focused on
homeowners and business owners who didn't have the resources to restore their
properties.

The city
is expected to send its revised plan to HUD next week.---Follow @siadvance on Twitter